Statement of the Problem
It is a problem to photograph a single event from multiple angles simultaneously using a plurality of cameras. Previously, an event could be photographed by a single camera using multiple slave flash triggers, each of which is connected to a separate flash unit. However, there was, heretofore, no simple method for synchronizing a plurality of cameras to essentially simultaneously photograph a single event from multiple perspectives, angles, or locations.
Solution to the Problem
The present system solves the above problem and achieves an advance in the field by synchronizing the capture of an image of a target subject by a master camera with the capture of an image of the subject by one or more slave cameras, each of which is located at a different position relative to the subject to be photographed.
Initially, a light pulse is transmitted by a ‘master’ camera when the camera's shutter button is pressed. Image capture (exposure) synchronization of the slave cameras is accomplished via an optical sensing system on each slave camera that detects a light pulse (e.g., a flash or strobe) transmitted from the master camera which causes the slave camera's electronic ‘shutter’ to trigger and record an image present on the camera's CCD (the ‘charge-coupled device’ that detects the image) if the detected light pulse is within certain parameters. These parameters may be manually selected for each camera to establish an appropriate image capture mode for a particular situation. An image may thus be captured from each of the different angles, relative to the subject being photographed, at which the cameras are positioned.
Any one of several image capture modes may be selected by a user of the present system. These modes include the detection of light pulses in the infrared, ultraviolet, and visible spectrum, as well as light pulses having a predetermined strobe pulse sequence or other characteristics. Slave cameras may also be triggered by light pulses emitted from other cameras (such as conventional film cameras) or flash units that emit any basic type of flash or strobe.
The slave mode camera system disclosed herein is useful for capturing sporting events as well as social events such as birthday parties, weddings, and the like. The system may also be used for security monitoring and photographic recording of any event of potential interest, where it is advantageous to capture the event from multiple camera angles. In addition, the use of multiple camera angles can provide useful information in applications such as failure analysis of structures and in other types of testing environments.
The present system also takes advantage of technology available in many existing digital cameras, requiring only the addition of software or firmware that functions in accordance with the method described herein.